An unexpected strike by French workers on the Eurotunnel undersea railway linking the UK and continental Europe on Thursday disrupted cross-Channel rail traffic and threatened many travelers’ Christmas holiday plans.
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A sudden strike over bonus payments caused massive disruption on the busy London-Paris route. Some trains had to return to the French capital shortly before arriving in London, with the French government calling the industrial action “unacceptable”.
Thousands of travelers were stranded at the high-speed train terminal at Gare du Nord.
“I was probably about 30 minutes from landing in London when all of a sudden I heard this announcement,” Sonia Kapoor, a 50-year-old American tourist, told Reuters.
“And finally, they said, ‘There’s a strike so you have to go back to Paris.’ It was shocking because we have so many plans,” she added.
GetLink, the operator of the cross-Channel tunnel used by rail company Eurostar, said a strike called by French trade unions had disrupted services and closed terminals in France and the UK.
The company announced that its union had rejected the €1,000 ($1,097.60) bonus announced by management and demanded that the amount be tripled.
Officials from the company’s labor union were not immediately available for comment.
Le brocage du tunnel sous la manche is unacceptable.
Solutions must be implemented immediately. Please join us.
J’appelle Chacun à la responsabilité, pour assurer la circulation et les départs en Vacances dans de bonnes conditions#get link
— Clément Beaune (@CBeaune) December 21, 2023
French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said the strike was unacceptable. “A solution must be found immediately,” he added in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“If possible, we recommend that you postpone your trip, even until tomorrow,” train operator Eurostar told X.
“Well, it’s a little bit painful, but there’s not much you can do about it,” said Corinna Lynn, 50, a British tourist from Essex traveling from Paris to London.
“It’s like a nightmare that we really don’t want to happen. But we have to deal with it and try to figure something out,” she added.
(Reuters)
